Between Two Points
by Phenatic Rabit
Summary: With the coming storm, new threats are revealed.
1. Chapter 1

**This follows up to _The Password to Her Heart_.**

* * *

I was startled awake by the sound of something falling. Turning over, I saw Victoria standing by the closet, cursing under her breath, and she was struggling to put some shoes on. When I sat up in bed, the mattress squeaked, and she spun around, her eyes wide like she was afraid to have been caught.

"I was going out for a run," Victoria blurted out quickly. "I tripped and bumped into my dresser; I didn't mean to wake you."

I glanced at her clock and saw that it was nearly five in the morning. "You're running this early? After barely getting three hours of sleep?"

Victoria folded her arms and actually pouted. "It was hard to sleep with _someone's_ loud snoring and need to smother me with their bear hugs."

"I don't snore," I commented softly, smiling. Victoria just gave me an odd look before turning back to her closet. I stood and made my way to her. "If I was bothering you, you could have just said so. You don't have to sneak out of your own room."

"I wasn't _sneaking_ ," Victoria bit out from between her teeth. "There is a very strict daily schedule that I abide by, and I won't have your hippy affections hindering it. I also don't let just anyone into my room, into my bed, and let them grope me with their sweaty paws, so you should be feeling pretty fucking special right now. I swear, Caulfield, you're always so dense, and you don't know when someone is trying to-"

I just yawned and nodded my head as Victoria went on. I was still fairly tired, so, instead of going back to bed, I wrapped my arms around her and laid my head on her shoulder. Victoria immediately stopped her ranting, but she didn't tense like she did before. She sort of relaxed; she didn't lean against me, but she didn't pull away either.

After a moment, Victoria turned in my arms. She lightly tugged my hair until I was looking up at her, and I opened my eyes to see her gazing at me with such intensity that it made my insides twist. "Let's get you back to bed." She then swept me off my feet as if I was a small kid and carried me to her bed.

"You're so strong," I mumbled into her neck. "Can I cuddle with you again?" I asked, making grabby hands when she laid me down.

"I'm going for a run," Victoria reminded me, pushing my hands down.

"Who am I supposed to cuddle with? Give me your lion."

"You're not drooling on General Whiskers."

Victoria brushed the hair from my eyes, and I had to wonder what sort of game we were now playing.

I took her hand into mine before she was able to pull away. "Tori," I began, and it was seconds later when she finally looked at me. "Why are you really up?"

Victoria ducked her head. Her brows furrowed into a pensive frown. "I just had a really weird dream, is all."

"What was it about?"

Victoria sighed, her fingers flexing in what I had to assume was a reassuring squeeze. "Something that will never happen."

Before I could ask what that exactly was, Victoria took her hand back and pulled the covers over me. I sighed in content because this bed was just so damn comfortable, and I rolled over, hugging the pillow that smelled of her.

As I was falling back into a deep slumber, I felt something soft and warm press against the side of my head.

…

It took two class periods and the break before the third for me to realize that Victoria was avoiding me. I had caught her staring at me several times now, but she'd never acknowledged my presence, not even to ridicule something stupid I had said or done.

When I saw her turn around and hightail it away after spotting me heading her way, I knew that I had to find out what was going on.

An opportunity arose later that evening. It took a couple of gos of time manipulation, but I finally managed to get Victoria alone, cornered in a way that she couldn't escape. The fury in her eyes was enough to scare even the toughest jock away, but I was determined.

I wasn't stupid, though. I was cautious when I took her hand, surprised that she'd let me, and then I dragged her into an empty room.

"Why won't you leave me alone?" Victoria snapped angrily, and something in my chest swelled and broke at the same time. I was tempted to just let her go, but I regained my resolve, because she hasn't let go of my hand yet.

"I want to know why you've been running away from me," I said. "We're not leaving until you tell me."

"You have a lot of nerve," she growled. She looked down at our clasped hands and snatched hers back. "You might have grown a pair during these last few days, but I will not continue to be trifled with. I'm still the top bitch around here; don't make me have to remind you."

Victoria turned to the door. I sidestepped in her way, crossing my arms defiantly. "You're not going to do anything to me, or to anyone else."

Victoria's face flushed red. She raised her hands, but I didn't flinch, and she grabbed my shoulders, her black nails curling until I winced in slight discomfort.

"Get it through your thick skull: we're not friends, and we never will be."

I steadily held her gaze as I declared, "It's because you want to be more than that."

Victoria sort of stumbled back, her eyes widening. I moved closer to her, placed my hands at her waist, and Victoria's breathing picked up. When I rose on the tips of my toes, her hands shot back to my shoulders, her fingers digging into my back.

Our lips were inches apart now.

Her voice trembled when she spoke. "You better remember who the fuck you're messing with, Caulfield."

I nodded, and I was very pleased when it was Victoria that closed the distance between us. She pressed me against the wall, and kissed me with such fervour that it caused me to gasp. I may have started this game, but it was I who had to cling to her for some desperate need of stability.

When her chest brushed against mine, a needy whine resounded in my throat. It seemed to break whatever haze Victoria was in, because she jerked away from me. Her pupils were blown, and she touched her swollen red lips unbelievably, in doubt.

When she headed to the door this time, I didn't try to stop her.

…

So, this day officially sucked. Victoria has gone back to ignoring me. I've tried texting her, even calling her, but there was never a response. I even tried to contact Chloe with the hope of getting some advice, but she didn't answer either. I haven't spoken with her since yesterday, when she'd dropped me off at Blackwell after our huge blowout about everything wrong with the universe.

This week has just been a steady occurrence of things going from bad to worse.

For now, though, I was happy to share my lunch with the woman that lived behind Two Whales.

"Do you, um…" The woman paused with her humming and looked at me expectantly. "Do you have a name? It just seems really rude to refer to you as a homeless woman."

The woman smiled gently at me. "And why is that? I am what I am. There's no changing that, Max Caulfield." Seeing my look, she shook her head and then turned her gaze to the sky. "But if you must know, I lost my name when I lost my home, and just like my old home, it's something I don't even think about anymore."

"Oh." I suddenly felt childish about my issues. "That's really sad."

The woman chuckled. "I apologize for spoiling the mood." She reached over and touched my arm. "I should be thanking you; that lunch really did wonders. I just wish there was something I can do for you, young Max."

I smiled, shaking my head to let her know that it was no trouble. "Trust me, you help me plenty by listening to my problems."

"And you have one now." I looked at her in surprise. "You've barely even touched your food, and you keeping sighing, looking all forlorn."

"I-" I tried to begin, but stopped. I looked down at the half sandwich I haven't even touched and sighed. I passed it over to the woman. She took it, but she laid it. She turned until her body was facing me.

"What's on your mind?" She asked.

After a moment of deliberation, I moved until I was facing her as well. "Well, this may sound silly, but there's this girl at my school that I kind of like, and I'm pretty sure she likes me back. We totally shared a moment last night, and now she ignores me as if it didn't even happen."

The woman whistled and wiggled her eyebrows. It took me a moment to catch on, and when I did, I blushed. "Not _that_ kind of moment, but..."

"But," the woman eagerly urged.

"We did kiss, just this afternoon."

The woman whistled again, looking surprised and very impressed. "Hot damn. Well, what do you want to do about her?"

I just shrugged, because what was I supposed to do in a situation like this? "I don't know. She's just really different when we are alone. I want to talk to her, but she keeps avoiding me."

"You're smart, Max. I'm sure you will figure something out. Who knows, maybe things will figure themselves out on their own."

I frowned at this, not really understanding her words, but I nodded nonetheless.

"Maybe," was all I could say.

We spoke of many other things until it was time for me to go. When I braced myself to stand, I touched something that immediately caused me to shudder. On my hand was something black and goopy and foul smelling.

I made a face. "Gross."

With jovial laughter sounding behind me, I headed back into the diner and went straight to the bathroom. As I was running my hands under the water, I noticed some graffiti under the soap dispenser.

It was a phone number, along with the words, _call this number if you want to have a good time_. I rolled my eyes at the winky face with the tongue sticking out.

I scrubbed my skin raw, until there was no presence of that black sludge. After drying my hands with a wad of paper towels, I pulled out my phone, typed in the number, and sent them a message.

 _I just wanted to let you know that your number was on a bathroom wall._

After sending it, I looked back at the grafitti. I tried to wipe it away with the wet towel, but it was used with a sharpie, so I used my own to scribble over it.

That wasn't vandalism, right?

My phone vibrated.

 _How classy. What did it say?_

 _You don't want to know. I marked it out, so no one else should bother you._

 _You're the first person to contact me in a while, but thanks._

Another good job done by Super Max. I headed out, waving goodbye to Joyce before exiting the diner. While I was standing at the bus stop, a notification pinged.

 _I know that it shouldn't matter,_ the message read, _but can I at least know the name of my hero?_

That caused me to laugh a little, albeit ruefully. _My name is Max._

After the message was sent, I checked the time, looked both ways down the street. Buses were so unreliable.

Suddenly, my phone started to go off. I studied the number and realized that it was the person I was texting. Why were they calling me? I must have hesitated too long, because the ringing stopped, but it started up again seconds later.

I answered and tentatively brought the phone to my ear, but didn't immediately speak. I could hear someone softly breathing on the other side.

"Hello?" I finally asked.

The breathing hitched.

"Max?" A girl softly questioned. "Maxine Caulfield?"

I slowly blinked. The bus had arrived. The door was open.

"How do you know my name?"

I heard what sounded like sniffling. "It's me. Victoria."

The driver was speaking to me, looking annoyed as he impatiently motioned for me to get on.

The girl, Victoria, was definitely crying. "Max, where are you? Where have you been?"

I touched my head; my vision was swimming. "What do you mean? I'm at Two Whales. I saw you like two hours ago. You're the one who's avoiding me."

"What?" It was Victoria's turn to sound exasperated. "Max, you've been missing for over five months!"

The bus was gone. I didn't know how to react, so I hung up. Staring at my hands showed that they were shaking. A red drop appeared on my sleeve.

I didn't know when the next bus would come, so I started to walk back to Blackwell. In my hand, my phone kept buzzing, so I pulled the battery.


	2. Chapter 2

It seemed to take me forever to get back to Blackwell. When I managed to get to my floor of the girl's dorm, the first person I spotted was Victoria. She was standing in front of my door, biting her lip, her fist raised and poised to knock.

"Victoria!"

The girl's attention snapped to me. For someone who was about to knock on my door, she sure did scamper off to her room like I was the last person she wanted to see.

"Victoria!" I exclaimed, hurrying over, but the door had already slammed shut. I pounded on it nonetheless, called out her name.

A few doors down the hall opened, heads popping out to see the commotion I was creating. I ignored them, continuing to knock until my knuckles went numb.

Another minute goes by and there is still no answer. I pressed my back against the door, sliding down until I was seated on the floor. I lightly banged my head against the door until I grew tired of that as well.

I heard whispering, and then I noticed someone's cautious approach from my peripheral. Before they could come any closer, I waved them off. After a moment of hesitation, they gratefully leave, and I am left in the hall with my own musings.

"Victoria," I murmured.

"Max," came the muffled reply.

I sat up in alarm and turned around. The door slowly creaked open, and there Victoria was, on her knees, her eyes red and brimming with tears. She lurched forward, threw her arms around me, and loudly sobbed into my chest.

This wasn't the sort of thing to do in the hallway, so I helped Victoria up and we moved into her room to sit on the couch, where Victoria continue to cry while latched on to me. I didn't really know what to do, so I held her, until she went quiet and so still that I thought that she'd fallen asleep.

It startled me when she spoke, but her words were muffled by my hoodie.

"What?" I had to ask.

Victoria took a moment to compose herself before pulling back. "I said your nose is bleeding again."

I touch my upper lip in wonder. "Oh."

Victoria shook her head, grabbing for the tissues that laid on the table in front of us. "And I thought I was a fucking mess," she groused, but she was tender as she clean my face, again in less than twenty four hours.

I must have been staring, because she paused.

"You was at my door," I said. "Did you want to speak with me?"

"I wanted to see you," Victoria stated like she was correcting me.

"Yeah, I kind of figured that much."

Victoria shot me a crossed look. "As you should know, I didn't get that much sleep last night, so I tried to take a nap. It wasn't long before I was...dreaming. I don't remember the specifics, but bad stuff was happening, and you were in the middle of it."

"So you were checking to see if I was okay?" I gathered. When Victoria didn't answer, instead standing to dispose the tissues, I continued on with, "That doesn't really explain why you started crying."

"It just freaked me out, okay? It all felt so real, so when I saw you with your stupid, bloody, dorky face…" Victoria flopped back down beside me with a frustrated huff. She dropped her head into her hands. "It felt so real," she mumbled, sounding on the verge of crying again.

After contacting an alternate Victoria and watching this Victoria, I started to wonder just how many people this coming storm was affecting. Maybe I could use this as a chance to recruit a new ally. Either that, or Victoria would call the cops and tell them how batshit crazy I was.

Quickly making my decision, I turned to her, tugging her arm until I had her attention. "Tori, what would you do if I said I had the power to rewind time?"

Victoria perked up, her mouth gaping open. "Oh my god. I'd say that it made sense."

"What? Why?"

"Nobody gets that cool in a matter of days, Lamefield," Victoria stated with a roll of her eyes.

"I'm being serious here."

"So am I," she said, seeming angry that I didn't think she was. "I mean, it makes _perfect_ sense. From you knowing just the right words to say, to you conveniently being at the right place at exactly the right time. Fuck. I'm surprised I didn't figure it out earlier."

"Time powers isn't exactly the first explanation that some people would jump to." I rubbed my neck and stared at her like she had a second head. "How are you not freaking out about this."

"Oh, I am," Victoria calmly replied. "I just always knew that this town was evil, and that you were a complete weirdo."

I shook my head and laughed in disbelief, because it was unexpected and yet a reaction only she could have. "Me being a weirdo aside, what makes you think this town is evil?"

"We're talking about Arcadia Bay, here. This place reeks of evil as well as fish," Victoria said, turning up her nose. "This town has long since been corrupted by the family in power, the Prescotts. I don't think I need to remind you how crazy rich, crazy influential, and flat out crazy they are. Nathan is nothing like his parents. He was cool, but then one day he started acting really weird. After Rachel disappeared, he started babbling about nonsense no one could understand, and reacting to things that weren't even there. It got so bad that he had a few episodes here at school; his family bribed the faculty to keep it hushed."

I'm reminded of all the files we found on him in Principle Wells office.

Victoria continued. "I don't know if they actually got him help, since he just came to school one day carting a bunch of new pills, but he was spastic unless he took he took them."

"Why are you telling me all of this?"

"Because you told me to."

I gave her my own unimpressed look. Victoria was able to withstand it for a while before she wearily sighed, relenting.

"Nathan was my best friend. Still is, kind of, but he is constantly using the leash his family has over mine to get me to do his dirty work. I don't know what his plan is, but given the shit that has happened so far, it has to be bad. I wanted to get the hell out of Arcadia Bay, and the Everyday Heroes contest was the only out I had."

"That's why you wanted to win?"

Victoria stiffly nodded. "I thought I had it in the bag too, but then Mr. Jefferson started to take an interest in you. I hated you because you were getting in the way of my freedom. I wanted to win so badly that I...I started to seduce him. I know it wasn't the best option, but it was all I had. With Nathan gone, though, I have a little breathing room. Mr. Jefferson was starting to give me bad vibes, anyway, and not just for rejecting me because I mean, c'mon, look at this bod." She motioned the length of her frame, and, yes, I did look.

Victoria seemed pleased at this, amused, but her smile was short lived as she frowned in afterthought. "I've been looking out for no one but my own ass." She laid her head against my shoulder. She looped our arms, turned my hand over and intertwined our fingers. It was an interesting development, but not one that I wanted to openly question, because it felt strangely right. "I don't blame people for hating me," she whispered. "I hate myself, sometimes."

"Well, I don't hate you," I gently responded, caressing her knuckles. "Never have, never will."

Victoria started to shake, and my shoulder grew wet. I glanced at her and saw her head down, like she didn't want me to see. With my free hand, I reached over, grasped her chin, and tilted her head until she was looking at me. I wiped the tears from both of her cheeks. Victoria leaned forward and brushed her lips against mine. When she saw that I was willing, she did it again, and again, until I gripped her on the back of the neck to bring her into a kiss.

This kiss was a lot different from the one before. It was passionate and yet brutal, desperate.

A low groan sounded from Victoria, and then she climbed onto my lap. "Bed," she gasped.

With a surprising burst of strength, I lifted her and moved us to the bed. As soon as we were down, Victoria flipped us over so that she was on top. She had rid me of my hoodie along the way. Her fingers were now playing at the edges of my shirt.

"What are you waiting for?" I asked when we broke apart to breath, and it was all the permission Victoria needed to begin stripping me of my clothes.

When I was laid bare before her, I grew a little self conscious of my body, but the way Victoria was staring at me in awe strengthened my resolve. She had her own clothes off within seconds, and then she was fervently attacking my neck with her lips and teeth, marking me.

Victoria positioned herself between my legs, spreading them until I was fully exposed. With one hand manipulating my breasts, the other trailed down, and I nearly choked when it reached my sex. She circled a finger around the opening, either to tease or to wait for permission. Honestly, if I had come this far, then I was obviously ready, and I let her know that by wrapping my legs around her waist.

Victoria pulled away from my neck to watch my expression as she slide a single digit in with ease. A moan forced its way passed my lips, my back instinctively arching, because I've never felt something like this before.

I was so worked up that I hardly felt when she added another finger. I only took notice when they started to curl.

"Touch me," Victoria groaned, taking my hand and directing it between her legs.

The amount of wetness I found there made me gasped. Her moans encouraged me to run my fingers through her soaked folds. When they got caught on a hard bud, Victoria practically screamed out my name. I moaned out hers when she increased the pace of her thrusts.

"Don't stop," Victoria whined, and I vaguely realized what she wanted.

Her pacing faltered when I started to rub her clit. She pressed hard against me, kissed me, and then started thrusting her fingers with vigor I kept up as best as I could, trying desperately to stave off the knot of pleasure forming in the pit of my stomach, but when she dragged her thumb over my clit, I cried out as I came.

Victoria bit into my shoulder as her body stiffened. She lazily pumped her arm until my walls released her fingers, and then she withdrew them before collapsing on top of me.

We laid there for a moment, panting, our limbs tangled in a sweaty heap.

"Wow," Victoria was the first to say. "That was way better than I imagined."

Instead of being offended, I laughed. "So, you've imagined this before?" Victoria groaned like she was in distress. I bit my lip to stifled the bubbling laughter. I wrapped my arms tight around her and kissed the top of her head. "Thank you."

I yelped when I was suddenly pinched on my side.

"You better not be thanking me for the sex," Victoria warned, lifting her head to glare at me.

"I wasn't. I was thanking you for staying with me, even after all of the crazy shit I told you."

"Oh. Well, I could say the same to you," Victoria said as she soothed the sting in my side. "So, just wondering, can you, like, rewind so it's like I gave you multiple orgasms?" Upon seeing my jaw drop, she gasped like she had just unveiled something scandalous. "You can, can't you? You _did_."

"No."

"Oh Max," she purred, twirling a strand of my hair around her finger. "Who knows what perverted things you made me do. I feel so used. It's almost like I'm your personal sex sla-"

I cut her off with a pillow. Victoria started laughing as she pulled the pillow from her smiling face. I've never seen her so excited and giddy with delight. My heart swelled at the knowledge that it was all because of me.

When she leaned forward, I meet her halfway and seized her lips. When her hand journeyed downwards, however, I reluctantly pushed her away. "Don't start something we can't finish."

"Who says we can't?"

"I do. We have to get ready for the party tonight."

"The Vortex Club party? Why would you care about that?" Victoria then eyed me suspiciously. "When exactly were you invited?"

I let out a nervous laugh, rubbing my neck sheepishly. "It may have been a last minute reservation. And I want to do something nice just in case...just in case I can't stop whatever is happening."

Victoria rolled her eyes. "Say no more." She climbed on top of me. I thought that she was just trying to get over, but she lingered, her hands falling just below my chest. "Just remember what you're missing out on."

My breath labored as she grinded her sex against my abdomen. My hands shot to her hips and gripped hard, stopping her movements although I wanted nothing more than to encourage them.

I had to force my eyes back to her face; she was grinning impishly. "That's so cruel."

Victoria winked and then slide off me. I took deep breaths to calm myself, and then I got out of bed as well. After I had my clothes on, I looked at Victoria. She was at her closet, a black dress in one hand and a cream blouse in the other. She was still naked, shifting her weight from one leg to the other, and my eyes hungerly raked in her form.

When Victoria slowly bent over with the guise of picking something up, I giggled, because I never thought that I would live to see that day that Victoria Chase tried to purposefully entice me.

Walking to her, I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her against me. Victoria glanced over her shoulder, smirking.

"Will you be my date to the party?" I asked her. She was taken aback. A red flush was covering her cheeks when she ducked her head. I leaned forward to try to get a better look. "Are you seriously blushing after what we just did?"

Victoria ducked her head further and scoffed. She turned around, her hands falling onto mine, keeping them on her hips. She looked down at me, her brows drawn, appearing deep in thought.

"Come get me when you're ready," she said.

Pressing her lips briefly to mine, Victoria let me go, and I departed. As I was heading to my room, I took my phone out and slide the battery back in.


	3. Chapter 3

If anyone were to ask, I would deny that I was swooning. Sure, there were butterflies in my stomach, my steps were light, and there was a grin that I couldn't wipe off my face, but I wasn't swooning. I didn't even know what it looked like, let alone how to do it.

My time back in Arcadia Bay has been nothing but a total shit show, and that was before the events of this week even happened. Since leaving my parents and friends back in Seattle, it seemed almost rare for me to feel content, but now it was like when I first reunited with Chloe, and then again when I managed to save Kate.

I had a date to get ready for, a date with Victoria Chase, but my wardrobe for said date was the least of my worries at the moment.

My phone has been going off non stop with both calls and messages since I turned it back on. I wasn't going to be able to put it off forever, so the next time my phone went off, I answered.

"Maxine!"

"Victoria," I began uncertainly. "I don't...I'm not exactly who you think I am."

"Then who the hell are you?" Victoria exclaimed. "If this is some kind of twisted joke then you should know that you're fucking with the wrong person!"

"This isn't a prank. I don't know how this is possible; I swear that I'm just as baffled as you are."

The line went so silent that I almost thought that Victoria hung up, but then there was a choked sob.

"Why do you sound so much like her?"

It sucked that I could only offer her what I knew. "I'm Maxine Caulfield, but I'm not yours, just like you're not my Victoria Chase."

"What are you saying?" Victoria growled, her voice breaking. "That you're in some kind of-fuck, I don't know, different dimension? How the hell am I not suppose to take this as a joke?"

"I'm not sure," is what I told her, which honestly could've applied to both questions. A beat passed, and when she didn't speak, I opted to. "If you don't mind me asking, you said that I...your Max has been missing?"

"Yes," Victoria stated tersely. "For at least six months, now. We had a fight, she left, and she never came back."

"Do you think she was kidnapped?" Victoria inhaled sharply, and I cringed at my lack of sensitivity. "Sorry. I just… You probably won't believe me, but here, in my world, a girl has been missing for that same amount of time. Her name is Rachel Amber. Have you heard of her?"

"No."

"Really? Well, maybe she-"

"No," Victoria cut me off. "I know everyone there is to know in this town, and I've never heard of her."

"Okay," I conceded. I didn't want to give her any more reason to be hostile with me.

I wanted to know-hell I didn't know what I wanted to know, but this could be a big lead to Rachel's own disappearance, or at least something that was connected with the coming storm.

However, there was one thing that I wanted to know for certain.

"How close was she to you?"

"She's my girlfriend," Victoria answered softly. "So, pretty damn close."

"I'm sorry," I said, which was pretty lame, but it was all I could offer. "I know you're from Seattle. Did you two meet up there?"

"What do you mean? Maxine has been in Arcadia Bay her whole life."

Well, that answered my unspoken question of whether this Maxine and I had the same experiences. From what I was gathering, it's basically what if I never left Arcadia Bay after William died. If I hadn't, I would've attended Blackwell sooner, I would have met Rachel, and I would have been there for Chloe when she needed me the most.

"You must think I'm crazy inconsiderate since all I'm doing is asking you questions instead of giving you answers."

"To be honest, it feels like I'm being interrogated, but that's nothing new."

"Interrogated? The cops interrogated you?"

"Not the cops. They couldn't be bothered to look into Maxine's disappearance. It was Chloe. She didn't like me much when Maxine and I first started seeing each other, thought I was too preppy." Victoria laughed, but it was hollow. "She's her best friend, so I understood why she would suspect me. Now it's like we're the only ones that give a damn. I'm doing all of the ground work since her parents won't let her out of their sight. She's adjusted a little better since the accident, but the stress is starting to wane on her health."

"Her parents? Accident? What are you talking about?"

"You…" I could hear her next exhale, slow and controlled. "It's different there."

"William died in a car accident," I said, vaguely aware of the waver in my voice.

"William is alive. Chloe was badly injured in a car accident, and now she confined to a wheelchair."

"She's…" I tried to imagine that. I tried to make myself believe that it was an actual outcome in a universe that wasn't quite like my own.

We both went silent for a long time.

I absently checked the clock and noted the time. "I'm going to be late for the party."

"As am I."

I rubbed my eyes when they started to sting. "I really am sorry that I'm not who you think I am. Maybe I can help you."

"No," Victoria stated plaintively, "you can't. Now please, never contact me again."

…

It took me a while to recover from all the things that I'd found out, so I sent a text to Victoria, my Victoria, telling her to go to the party ahead of me.

The party was well under way when I finally did arrive to the pool building. Some students were gathered outside, but they weren't leaving. Some were relaxing and talking to others under the night sky, while some were just passed out drunk in the grass.

I soon spotted Victoria waiting outside the doors. When she saw my approach, she grinned and stood up straight.

"You look twee, hipster."

"And you look…" I gave her wardrobe a once over and honestly stated, "gorgeous, as always."

The compliment seemed to take Victoria by surprise. I'm sure she has been praised and admired for her looks before, but it was probably the first time that it was so heartfelt and from someone like me.

"I...thank you." Victoria turned abruptly. She pulled open the door and motioned for me to head in first.

Entering the small hallway reminded me of how Chloe and I snuck in here just the other night. That thought then reminded me of how I haven't been able to contact her at all today. I had sent her several texts, but a call to her phone informed me that it was disconnected.

I didn't want to worry too much about her, or about all of the things happening because the coming storm, but after learning about that alternate timeline, it was hard not to.

"Hey." Victoria appeared beside me. "You okay?"

"It's just...this is my first big party, you know?"

Victoria narrowed her eyes. If she did detect anything wrong with me, she graciously didn't comment on it.

Pushing open the second set of doors, we both headed inside. It was loud with a thumping bass, dark with flashing colored lights, and packed with more people than I thought even attended this school. It was a little overwhelming, because it really was my first big party.

I felt Victoria's hand slip comfortably into mine. I inwardly smiled to myself, and hoped that she didn't mind terribly when I laced together our fingers.

Victoria took off first since this was her element, and I followed as closely as I could. I was sort of lagging behind because there was a lot of people to work around, but Victoria passed by them like she wasn't bothered, like they weren't even there.

Before I could call out to her, I shouldered into someone so hard that I stumbled.

"Oh! I'm so-" I turned to properly apologize, but I stopped upon seeing no one immediately there.

Thinking that they simply walked off, I looked around and noticed that, no, no one was close to us. The party wasn't even as packed as I had initially noticed.

"Max." I was spun around to face Victoria. Her brows were furrowed with concern. She gently took my face between her hands and forced me to look into her eyes. "Are you sure you're okay? You look really out of it."

"The flashing lights and the music," I reasoned, shaking my head to gather my thoughts. "They must be throwing me off."

Victoria nodded her head, but she didn't look entirely convinced. "This isn't your kind of scene. Come on." She pulled me along again.

We were soon stopped by a shirtless guy in swimming shorts. He couldn't really say anything passed the flashing pacifier in his mouth, but judging by how he has yet to stop dancing, and how he was motioning back and forth between Victoria and himself, he wanted her to join him.

"Sorry, but I already have a date." Victoria pulled me into a side hug just for emphasis. The guy bobbed his head before running off to go cannonball into the pool.

"Date," I blurted nonsensically, so it was no surprise when Victoria gave me a questioning look. "This is a date."

I had hoped that it was, but I didn't think that Victoria would admit to it, especially so soon into...whatever it was we were doing.

"If that's what you want to call it," said Victoria, "although this isn't my ideal first date with you."

"What would be ideal?"

Victoria winked. "That will spoil the surprise."

We headed to one of the dark corners, where it was considerably more quiet and we were relatively alone.

I must've had a pensive look on my face, because Victoria said, "Uh oh. You're thinking about something."

I sheepishly rubbed my neck. "I was just wondering, if you were to put a label on our relationship, what would we be?"

Victoria didn't hesitate when she answered with, "Fuckbuddies."

I frowned. "Absolutely not."

"Buddy, at least. Gal pal? Buddy ol' gal pal."

"You're being ridiculous."

"You just passed the notion of being my fuckbuddy, and I'm the one being ridiculous?"

When I didn't relent, Victoria pouted. Wrapping her arms around me, she leaned forward and languidly kissed me until I fell against her and kissed her back. This moment was ours, and we took our time, moving to a rhythm much slower than the actual beat.

Victoria pulled back just enough to speak. "I'm a bad person, you know. I've done things and said some shit that I want to take back, but I can't, and I'm going to keep doing and saying stupid things because that's just how I've always been, but...I want to change. For you, I want to be better."

Her confession left me speechless. I gazed up at her to see her eyes bright and soft with fondness that seemed just for me, and my heart started to beat faster. "Victoria…"

When I couldn't go on, she said, "It's okay. You don't have to say anything. This is so uncharastically sappy of me, but if something happens, then I want you to know that, and I want you to know that I will be there for you if you need me."

I smiled, and maybe I was swooning. "Ditto."

Victoria rolled her eyes, but there was nothing but affection in the gesture.

"I think that's enough mushy shit for one day. If you will excuse me, I need a quick puff from the pipe."

"Victoria."

"What? I can't be good all of the time, Caulfield." She squeezed me before pulling away. "If it makes you feel any better, then I promise I won't be gone for more than a few minutes. I'll even bring you back a drink."

"Non-alcoholic, please," I yelled just before she disappeared.

Whether or not she heard me wasn't my main concern, though.

With Victoria gone, the brave front I had put for her sake crumbled away. I wrapped my arms tight around myself, feeling cold, small, and afraid.

What I'd told her was a lie; what I was seeing was no trick of the lighting. There were more students around, but they weren't there, not really. They were flashing in and out of existence, their forms appearing faint and ethereal like ghosts. Ghosts that apparently only I could see.

I was swept with a wave of nausea, my eyes fluttering as my head started to pound. I touched my lip, neither surprised at the sight of blood, nor my shaking hands.

"What the hell is going on," I asked myself.

My attention snapped up at a guy's loud exclamation of, "Let's give it up for the End of the World!"

There was a ten second countdown to midnight. After one, everyone cheered, blowing horns, pushing their unsuspecting neighbors into the pool.

I was just standing there on my own when a hand suddenly clamped over my mouth.

"Don't try anything," the person snarled into my ear, pressing what felt like the barrel of a gun into my side.

I panicked. I risked raising my right hand in order to rewind, but a blow struck me on the back of my neck, and then everything went black.


End file.
